Tuesday, January 08, 2013

It's an amazing show of absolute hypocrisy or a terribly cold-blooded power play. Either way, the Obama Administration is showing a shocking lack of common sense and prudence with its latest push for comprehensive gun control.

As late as 2011, the Department of Justice was giving automatic assault weapons to Mexican drug cartels. In case you have forgotten, the Obama Administration's disastrous "Operating Fast and Furious" allowed the sale of weapons (worth over one million dollars) to drug lords; these guns were then allowed to "walk." In other words, the DoJ stopped monitoring their movements.

The official line of the current administration, through both actions and words, has made it abundantly clear that, while they admit mistakes were made in Fast and Furious, the idea to arm Mexican drug cartels was sound. Something that is not: allowing American citizens to own assault weapons.

And most ludicrously and hypocritically of all, the Administration is pushing for a nationwide database to track the movement and sale of every single weapon in the United States. The same lack of tracking resulted in the deaths of possibly hundreds of Mexicans, and assuredly Americans.

Are you a law-abiding United States citizen? Congratulations, you have fewer rights to own guns than drug cartels in the middle of Mexico.

An empty oil tanker struck a tower of the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Monday but did not appear to spill any oil into the bay, the U.S. Coast Guard and California state officials said.

The 750-foot-long "Overseas Reymar," sailing under a Marshall Islands flag, was leaving the bay amid heavy fog on Monday morning when its starboard hull scraped one of the towers supporting the Bay Bridge.

Officials played down the incident, which occurred about 5 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, where the San Francisco Bay opens into the Pacific Ocean.

Monday, January 07, 2013

I love the Christmas season. I don’t know why. It’s the season of giving, after all, but I give year-round. Time, money, and my knowledge, I give to whomever I deem in need of it.

Without sounding like a wild-eyed fanatic, Jesus is the reason for the season. It is His birth that we celebrate, even those who do not recognize Him as who He is. The “free thinkers” ( a term mired in irony) among us whisper to us that Jesus was probably not born on December 25th, reminding us that the early Christians purloined the pagans’ celebratory day of Winter Solstice in order to bring Christianity into the mainstream. The “free thinkers” chortle in derisive laughter that Jesus was probably born in the summer months, pointing to May or June as the most likely months.

What the “free thinkers” misunderstand is that no Christian doctrine is overturned by celebrating Christ’s birthday in December instead of in its proper month. The infallibility of Scripture is not in question here. I’ve even read that there are actually people who think that putting so much focus on celebrating Christ’s birth demeans his life. Nowhere in the Bible does it command us to celebrate Christ’s birthday.

But I digress.

I was on my way to saying that although I love the Christmas season, sometimes it can be a bit wearing on a person’s soul. As a retailer, I see all sorts of people come into my store. Some are always polite, some have bad days and good days. Some wouldn’t know politeness and good manners if they came up to them wearing a name badge.

Being on this side of the register allows me to see a wide range of behaviors, and compare them to the way most of us would want to act. So think of this as a column about New Year’s resolutions that a person could follow if they want to contribute to a better society.

1) “Whaddya mean, you’re out of it?” We get it, you are frustrated that we don’t have your product in stock. There is absolutely nothing a retailer hates more than a potential sale being refused when it doesn’t have to be. We’re sorry, we don’t like watching you walk out of the store empty-handed, but we just can’t whistle up your product out of thin air. We’ll suggest alternatives, if at all possible. The best among us will call any of our other stores for you to see if they have it in stock.

2) “I cannot believe how much this costs!” I understand, and I sympathize with you. I know that things are a lot more expensive now than they were a year, two years, five years, a decade, etc. ago. You only have so much money, and it doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to go. I, too, can remember when a left-handed loaf of bread was only fifty cents. But in case it has escaped your notice, everything is more expensive now than it used to be. Even if they weren’t, the lady behind the counter wearing the name badge does not set the prices.
3) “I’m going to your competitor!" Even if the lady with the name badge does set the prices at the store that you frequent, you still have the power to not buy what it is that she is selling. You can walk down the street and check out the prices at her competitors. You just might find that the price that you balked at was the better price. And won’t you look foolish when you walk back in and buy the swivel-top egg timer that you turned your nose up in the first place? We do notice things like this, and we do comment among ourselves about it.
4) “Well, I’ll be with you as soon as I finish this very important call.” Trust me, we’re not that impressed that you have a Bluetooth cell phone and you are talking to your cousin in Botswana about the upcoming banana harvest. It’s my theory that somebody is tagging douchebags and releasing them back into the wild. Don't be a douchebag. Become acquainted with your phone’s off button.
5) Throwing your credit card across the counter at me. Yes, I’m serious. This has happened to me more times than I care to count. This is especially frustrating when I am holding my hand out for you to hand your money or credit card to me, and you instead throw it down onto the counter. Do you wonder why you get poor service? Chances are, you’ve pulled this maneuver. Would you like it if we were to throw your change right back at you?
6) Please stop flirting with my female clerks. I know, you are the greatest guy in the world, and my clerk smiles so winsomely at you. It must be love!

Well, maybe not.

It’s not that they don’t like you, it’s just that they hear your spiel (or something like it) nearly every minute of every day. When you hit on her, you become just another guy when this happens. Do you want to be just another guy, or do you want to be different from everybody else?
(Attractive women flirting with me is just fine, however.)

7) Please know what you are going to buy before you get to the front of the line. There is nothing more frustrating than to ask a customer what they want, and get the answer of “Um” followed by ten seconds of silence. You obviously had an idea of what you wanted before you walked into my store. Why have you forgotten in between then and now? Write it down and make a list if you need to.
8) Have your money ready. Don’t wait for us to ring everything up before you go searching for your wallet. Do you imagine that you will get your items for free if you are the one millionth customer?
9) Paying with coins. If I had a penny for every time somebody emptied out a baggie full of coins onto my counter, well, then, I’d have a baggie full of pennies. But I wouldn’t have somebody else count them for me. There are coin counters at your bank, and they will do it for free if you have an account there, or for a small fee if you don’t.

10) Not answering me when I talk to you, and/or shifting your focus while checking out. I know, there’s lots of interesting things on my counter. That’s why they are up there, to draw your attention before you check out. But once I ask you if you have anything else to purchase and you answer in the negative, then please do me the courtesy of looking at me and not something else on the counter. When you are talking to somebody you don’t know, do you look around, paying them no attention. Or do you look at them and pay as much attention to them as you can? Most likely, its the second option that you choose.

It’s not just rude to look away from someone, but it is also unsafe. I could take advantage of your inattention and give you the wrong change back. Or I could tell you an amount that is slightly more than what you are rung up for, or put in the wrong amount on your credit card. And you would never notice it because you are looking at something other than your transaction.

11) Please pay attention to our signs. How many times a day do I have to explain that there is a $3 minimum purchase for credit cards, even though there is a large sign on my register? Way too many times for my taste.

And finally, the big one:

12) Theft. I could write a whole book on this one. To keep it short: DON'T. Most every store has security cameras, and somebody watching them. Yes, even the little mom&pop stores in the littlest towns. Always assume that you are on video. Always. Because chances are, you are on video.

Different managers handle theft situations differently. Here’s how I handle most instances of theft: I wait until I am positive that you are going to try to leave my store without paying for what you have. Then, I confront you and give you a choice. Either you can pay for what you have, or you can return what you have in your possession. Because at this point, the situation is just between you and me. Choose one of the two options, and everything is fine. I’ll keep an eye on you in the future, but I just treat it as a human failing. We all have them, and I believe we should be forgiven of them if it is an isolated incident.

But...

If you instead choose a third option, if you choose to look me in the eye and say, “I don’t know what you are talking about”?

That’s a mistake.

Because you have just insulted my intelligence, and labeled yourself as a liar. And now, instead of the situation just being between you and me, the situation has just become complicated. The situation is now you versus me, Mr. Policeman, Mr. District Attorney, and Mr. Judge. It is now 4 on 1. Do you think you are going to win in that situation?

No, me neither.

Why on Earth would you spend at least a night in jail for a lighter that isn't even over $2 in price? But this has happened before, and I'm sure it will happen again.

I don't like calling the police. I consider them the final option, only utilized after all other options have been exhausted. But I'm not shy about doing it.

Oh, and don't even try to leave my store once the police have been called. Not because I will tackle you. I have a concealed carry permit, and a few other nasty surprises, in contrast to my nice guy demeanor. No, I most likely won't tackle you.

But when the police catch you (and make no mistake, they WILL catch you), you will not only be charged with whatever level of theft you have just committed, but also the fun charge of fleeing. You MIGHT avoid the charge of theft at your trial, but you will ALWAYS get the charge of fleeing.

And those charges and trials are not cheap. Most court costs (just the court costs!) are typically well over $120 a pop, and you WILL be paying them whether you are found guilty or not.

Aren't you glad I kept this part of it short?

Well, that's about it for this outing. I'll have more Smart Answers to Stupid Liberal Statements next time. Unfortunately, stupidity and liberalism (but I repeat myself) never sleep.

If you're interested in a career in law, you don't necessarily have to become a lawyer. In fact, the law field is heavily saturated right now. Perhaps instead, you can choose a specialized job, such as a legal transcriptionist or a paralegal. Or at least consider these as alternatives. Each of these jobs plays a crucial role in society to help protect the rights of all citizens. The following information about alternative careers will provide you with information on how to decide between which legal career to pursue:

Legal Transcriptionist

A legal transcriptionist is responsible for transcribing the proceedings from a legal proceeding into a clear document. Before you can apply for this job, you must undergo vigorous legal transcription training. This training will prepare you to use the tools needed for this job, including a computer. In addition, you'll also learn how to pay attention to small details, efficiently transcribe spoken legal proceedings, and edit your final document into a readable format.

After completing your training, you can get a job in a number of different locations. If you're an East Coaster this could include applying at some of the top Boston law firms or government agencies in Washington, if you're prepared to move. Some employers may even allow you to work from home with the proper equipment. In this career, you can expect to make between $30,000 and $40,000 per year. In addition, your experience as a legal transcriptionist can help you advance to another related job, including as a legal researcher or legal assistant.

Paralegal

Paralegals help attorneys in a number of different settings, including at law firms and corporations. These individuals do not represent clients or fulfill any official role in a court. Instead, paralegals offer assistance to those involved in a court case by performing research, examining evidence and managing files.

Most paralegals have at least an associates degree. Additionally, many paralegals choose to specialize in particular fields of law, such as divorce, personal injury or criminal law. On average, paralegals earn approximately $50,000 a year. After gaining more experience, you can earn even more money. The paralegal field offers plenty of room for growth as the demand for these professionals continues to grow.

Mediator

Due to the legal delays associated with divorce and other legal procedures, many individuals turn to mediators for help. Mediators assist parties who are locked in legal gridlock by offering suggestions and fresh ideas. Although a background as a lawyer can help with this job, becoming a mediator doesn't require any special experience. However, mediators do need special personality traits; mediators must exercise discretion, neutrality and patience with each party in a dispute. Most mediators prepare for their career by enrolling in mediation education programs.

This particular career is growing in popularity as more people seek to avoid expensive court cases. Mediators can expect to earn $30,000 per year when they first begin. If you can get a full-time mediator job with a local government or other agency, you may earn up to $100,000 a year.

If you want to get a job in law but have no interest in becoming a lawyer, or find the competition overwhelming, there are plenty of other opportunities you can pursue. Each of these jobs offers exciting challenges that will put you right in the middle of interesting court cases.

Normally I don't begrudge a politician or their family for spending a little more on amenities. That being said, I normally want to see that coming out of their own paycheck (which usually we pay for, anyway). After a series of expensive vacations, affairs, or other issues, many (if not most) politicians and their kin break this promise and just spend far too much while the budget remains bloated.

Understated elegance is a matter of electoral smarts for many politicians. Take a president that comes out in a polo shirt while golfing or a short button down shirt while touring a factory-- a little humility can often go a long way.

Usually we don't celebrate expensive extravagance of our politicians. The realm of the super-rich and the celebrities should not usually cross into the White House. A Republican that spends any sort of money on such items is immediately derided by the press (Sarah Palin, anyone?).

Unless they're a Democrat.

With the country only $16,000,000,000,000 in debt, you would expect many of the country's top politicians and their families to try and give a little back, even if it's just for show. Mike Bloomberg, for all of this stupid policies, works for a dollar, and the like.

The New York Times, however, celebrates Michelle Obama's expensive fashion sense. While the dresses may look good, they pay little solace to the family that can't make ends meet. They don't pay the bills for someone in the coal industry that lost their job in the last four years.

Even more astonishing is that Mrs. Obama’s spending on clothes has attracted little scrutiny. Clearly that’s because she is seen as helping the American economy. Still, she has spent tens of thousands of dollars on clothes and accessories.

But it's okay because the money has stimulated the American economy. If we can get every member of Congress to start wearing these designer clothes, we'll be out of our problems in no time!

She was criticized for wearing $500-plus Lanvin sneakers at a food bank, in 2009. But at a time when economic inequality is a serious issue, you wonder why the first lady’s fashion spending hasn’t caused more fuss.

I wonder why the media didn't cover it!

This article seems to show what's wrong with the country. Michelle Obama can look nice, and spend the money to do it, but that doesn't count as a virtue and it doesn't count as a sound economic policy.

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Most of us, even those of us who are the products of America’s collapsed public education system have
heard of the fall of Rome.The greatest of ancient western empires began
to fall as soon as the vigorous Republic which had created it was replaced by
an autocratic military dictatorship.A
dictatorship which hid behind a veneer of republican forms while devolving into
a cult of personality around whichever thug happened to have murdered his way
to the throne.For centuries this once
vibrant nation of freemen sank beneath the weight of regulations, taxes,
inflation, and tyranny.For centuries
after their power had been usurped by the ever more absolute Emperors there was
still a Senate, there were still elections, and there were still courts charged
with safeguarding the Republic.

Freedom was extinguished, and the yeoman farmers who had
supported the Republic and filled its armies became first tenant farmers.Then they morphed into an unemployed rabble
choking the streets of an imperial capital living on government bread and
entertained by government circuses.The
armies of the Empire were not filled by native Romans they were filled with
provincials who were granted the coveted status of citizen for serving.When the expanding decay of the central
dictatorship undermined the vitality of the provinces and the culture of
helpless subjects swallowed the pride of citizenship, Germans and other
barbarians were imported to fill the armies.By the time Rome fell it was
no longer Rome.The capital had
moved to Constantinople
in the East and Ravenna in
the West.

The barbarians had long ago supplanted the native Romans and
their provincials as the generals and power brokers in the West.In the East the Greeks had taken control of
the military and the culture even though they still called themselves
Romans.

In 476 AD when
Rome officially fell in the West it didn’t fall as much as it was
replaced.There were no massive charges
of barbarians against fortified walls on the Rhine or the Danube.Those walls had been manned by barbarians for
many years.Instead when the king of the
Visigoths, Odacar who was already a Roman general, grew tired of the charade he
pushed aside Romulus Augustulus the effete boy emperor taking control of the Western Empire.

When Odacar refused to pay taxes to the remaining Roman
Emperor in Constantinople he resorted to a
tried and true Roman strategy.He hired
a barbarian to do the dirty work.Thus
Theodoric of the Ostrogoths stabbed Odacar of the Visigoths passing power from
one barbarian nation to another.Once in
possession of Rome Theodoric saw no need to hand that prize over to a distant
Greek who called himself a Roman but had no power in Rome.When Theodoric declared himself the King of Italy we mark it as the fall
of Rome though
the Greeks continued to call their empire Roman for another thousand
years.It seems T. S. Elliot was correct, at least as
far as the Roman world was concerned, it ended not with a bang but a whimper.

Looking closer to home the British Empire came out of World War One
as the largest empire in the history of the world.It stretched around the globe controlling
thirteen million square miles and 460 million people covering ¼ of the earth’s
surface leading the proud imperialists to boast that “The sun never set on the British Empire.”They were such dedicated conquerors that the Indians had a saying, “Only
mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.”Nothing would stop them from pushing forward
to victory.

However twin victories in Europe’s World War suicide dance
combined with a welfare state and the confiscatory taxes it always brings
brought Britain
to its knees forcing them to voluntarily renounce their empire.They transformed it into a Commonwealth
of Nations with member nations still upholding the fiction of British
authority.However, the amount of real
power the Queen or the British Parliament holds in Canada
or Australia
gives voice to the fall of the empire even if they want to pretend it is still
there.

In Rome
on the Potomac Boehner’s Plan B becomes Obama’s plan to tax you and me.After all the huff and buff of a con man’s
bait and switch it turns out Washingtondoesn’t
have a spending problem .No, the
problem is we
aren’t sending them enough money.Never fear, elections have consequences and since the ignored corruption
of fraudulent voters and whacky voting machines has given Mr. Obama an
uncontested victory, he and his Progressive Vandals win, and we American Romans
lose.Our new national motto might as
well be “Stand and Deliver.”

The Barbarians have been inside the gates for a long
time.The Kennedy
Immigration Bill of 1965 breached the walls and the Progressive
indoctrination camps we call public schools combined with an entitlement
culture to turn generations of Americans into know-nothing couch potatoes
waiting for a government check.

Our worldwide
military posts are necessary for the policeman of the world.Our mounting debt fuels our endless wars for
peace and our ever expanding welfare state.All of which brings us to the crushing taxes and the regulation
strangulation that guts our economy of innovation and productivity.The givers shove the producers out of the way
as they waddle to the trough for some more free lunch.Our leaders are perpetually re-elected
demagogues pandering to the lowest common-denominator of the takers. They are
Santa Clauses giving away vote buying presents paid for by the unwilling and
given to the undeserving.

Like Rome
this empire won’t fall it will collapse.Like Britain
we will pretend that the empire exists long after we know the emperor has no
clothes.

Our only hope as a nation is to jettison the Empire to save
the Republic.On a personal level we
must lead our families in a restoration of the work ethic and a return to moral
sanity.Either we individually spark a
revival of what made us great or we sink into the hole dug by moral rot and the
decay of ambition.

Empires rise and empires fall; however, though a
thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it
shall not come near you.Because you
have made the Lord the Most High, your dwelling place.No evil shall befall you for He shall give
His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.Trust Jesus, open
up before God,
and keep nothing back. He’ll do whatever needs to be done.He’ll validate your life in
the clear light of dayand stamp you with approval at high noon.

It took 16 hours of talks in New York on Saturday, with concessions from both sides. It took 113 days. A total of 625 regular-season games were sacrificed, or over half the 2012-13 season. It took months of bitter sniping, petty politics, false hope and broken hearts.

But at around 5 a.m. on Jan. 6, the word finally spread around the hockey world: The NHL and the NHLPA had reached a verbal agreement on a tentative framework for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Drop the puck. The NHL will be finally back, with a 10-year CBA solidified between union chief Donald Fehr and Commissioner Gary Bettman. As Fehr said, via Sportsnet: "Any process like this is difficult; it can be long...we have the framework of a deal."

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday outlined a new peace initiative that includes a national reconciliation conference and a new government and constitution but demanded regional and Western countries stop funding and arming rebels first.

Assad ignored international demands for him to step down and said he is ready to hold a dialogue with those "who have not betrayed Syria."

Syrian opposition forces, including rebels on the ground, are likely to reject Assad's proposal. They have repeatedly said they will accept nothing less than the president's departure, dismissing any kind of settlement that leaves him in the picture.

"We are in a state of war. We are fighting an external aggression that is more dangerous than any others, because they use us to kill each other," he said.

Saturday, January 05, 2013

President Obama‘s 2008 campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for reporting violations regarding donations received towards the end of the campaign. An audit was requested by the Republican National Committee and according to the FEC, the Obama campaign failed to provide notices for nearly 1,200 contributions which totaled nearly $1.9 million.

FEC rules say that campaigns are required to file reports on donations of $1,000 or more received during the final 20 days of the campaign. These reports must be filed within 48 hours.

The fines to the Obama campaign are among the largest ever demanded of any presidential campaign. The group paid $230,000 and the Democratic National Committee paid the remainder.

Uncomfirmed reports say that Sonny Archuleta was the shooter that killed three other people and himself in Aurora, Colorado, less than a year after another shooting there. The name was released by CBS News.

Rumors are swirling that Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez has died of cancer in Havana, Cuba. There is a photo that purports to show him dead in Havana. However, it is unconfirmed and shows him with hair even though he had it shaved for cancer treatment.

News trickled out yesterday that President Obama will nominate former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) for Secretary of Defense sometime this upcoming week, even though the initial reaction to his proposed nomination was so negative only a few weeks ago from both sides of the aisle.

The odd bipartisan nature of negative comments delivered on Hagel's nomination stem from his extremely far-left foreign policy doctrine, which offend Republicans with his crusade against the Iraq War, Democrats with his suggestion that there is a Jewish lobby in Washington and almost everyone with his absolutist dove approach towards Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Now, I'm no expert on Defense Secretaries, but from my personal research of Hagel's comments and stances, he might be the more dovish individual to lead, if approved by the Senate, America's defense policy since Mel Laird in the Nixon administration, who was strongly opposed to Vietnam and enacted the policy of Vietnamization.

And when we're dealing with a nuclear ambitious country such as Iran, which is driven by radical religious ideology and a strong desire to see entire nations wiped off the map, it's not a good idea for our Secretary of Defense to be to the left of the United Nations and oppose any action against them...

I'm sorry, but for someone who has made reasonably good decisions in selecting officials to lead our foreign policy apparatus, what in the hell has possessed President Obama to nominate such a man as Hagel - an isolationist and much opposed individual to replace Leon Panetta... Who was approved unanimously.

I don't understand how this nomination in the foreign policy or political realm makes one lick of sense for President Obama, or honestly, the nation - and I hope a bipartisan coalition kills it...

Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill), who suffered a stroke over one year ago, finally returned to the U.S. Senate yesterday afternoon and climbed up the stairs with the help of Senator Manchin, his best friend on Capitol Hill and Vice-President Joe Biden.

The warning area includes coastal areas from about 75 miles southeast of Cordova, Alaska, to the north tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said. The warning area extends for about 475 miles.The magnitude 7.5 quake struck at midnight Friday (1 a.m. PST Saturday) and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig, Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey said.A tsunami with a "significant widespread inundation of land is expected," the center said in a statement.The first wave was expected around 1:15 a.m. (2:15 a.m. PST) in Craig, and 2:50 a.m. in Cordova, further to the north.The center said widespread dangerous coastal flooding is possible.In addition to the warning, a tsunami advisory is in effect for coastal Alaska from Cape Suckling to 75 miles southeast of Cordova and from the Washington state border to the tip of Vancouver Island.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/05/strong-earthquake-jolts-alaska-sparks-tsunami-warning/#ixzz2H672FW2z

The warning area includes coastal areas from about 75 miles southeast of Cordova, Alaska, to the north tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said. The warning area extends for about 475 miles.The magnitude 7.5 quake struck at midnight Friday (1 a.m. PST Saturday) and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig, Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey said.A tsunami with a "significant widespread inundation of land is expected," the center said in a statement.The first wave was expected around 1:15 a.m. (2:15 a.m. PST) in Craig, and 2:50 a.m. in Cordova, further to the north.The center said widespread dangerous coastal flooding is possible.In addition to the warning, a tsunami advisory is in effect for coastal Alaska from Cape Suckling to 75 miles southeast of Cordova and from the Washington state border to the tip of Vancouver Island.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/05/strong-earthquake-jolts-alaska-sparks-tsunami-warning/#ixzz2H672FW2z

Fighting in Syria has intensified in the past couple of days as rebel forces are pushing into the suburbs of Damascus, which are important chains in the government's supply lines, and only a stone throw's distance from the center of the capital city, Assad's last stronghold.

The suburbs, Dariya and Moadamyeh are key targets for the rebel forces, who are seeking to further isolate and cut off Damascus from the rest of the country, as well as to stage a second round of operations into the capital.

And as fighting as continued on the ground for these suburbs, Assad's loyalist air force struck a deadly blow on both towns as a combined thirty were killed and an unreported number were wounded by the attacks, showing the regimes willingness to launch deadly air strikes so close to home.

If only the international community, or at least regional powers, came to the aid of the rebels and established a no-fly zone to effectively handicap the regime's last conventional method of halting the advance towards Damascus. This war could be over a lot faster if only a few powers decided acting is better then watching...

Friday, January 04, 2013

Nancy Pelosi's aides took a page out of the fashion world's playbook this week and did some ultra-airbrushing to a congressional class photo -- adding in four lawmakers who were never in the original picture.

The reason was innocuous enough. The Democratic women of the 113th Congress had gathered on the Capitol steps Thursday for a picture, snapped by The Associated Press, marking the start of the session.

Four lawmakers, though, were late to the shoot. So Pelosi's office added their faces after the fact -- then emailed that image around to reporters and posted it on her Flickr page.

Still, the act of digitally altering a quasi-official photo raised questions Friday. Journalism institute Poynter drew attention to the "doctored" photo, pointing out that the White House in 2011 stopped staging photos after a flap over the president re-enacting the announcement of Usama bin Laden's death.

Robust hiring in manufacturing and construction fueled the December gains. Construction firms added 30,000 jobs, the most in 15 months. That likely reflects additional hiring needed to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy and also solid gains in home building that have contributed to a housing recovery.

Manufacturers gained 25,000, the most in nine months.

Even with the gains, hiring is far from accelerating. Employers added an average of 153,000 jobs a month last year, matching the monthly average in 2011. Employers added 1.84 million jobs in 2012, the same as the previous year.

Still, the stable hiring last month means employers didn't panic during the high-stakes talks between Congress and the White House over tax increases and spending cuts that were not resolved until the new year. That's a good sign for the coming months, since more budget disputes are expected.

Eight abstained, making it clear that they might vote against Bachmann if the opportunity presented itself, including the famed Michele Bachmann. That's the magic number: 17.

At the last moment, however, Bachmann declared that she was no longer abstaining and... voted for Boehner. This gives Boehner reelection and most certainly, many conservatives will be calling her a RINO.

There are many ways that people are looking to save money in today's shopping world. There are gifts to buy and things that you want or need for your own house. When these are important parts of your everyday life, you want to make sure that you have the right tools to find the things that you need. Take a look at your options, such as a DealDash auction. You can combine fun with shopping by looking at DealDash and all of the different things that it has to offer. You can find those items that you have been looking for, buy them at ease online, while not paying too much for them.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news giant, has long tried to convince Americans that it is a legitimate news organization, not a parrot of Middle Eastern propaganda or something more sinister.

It just bought itself 40 million more chances to make its case.

Al Jazeera on Wednesday announced a deal to take over Current TV, the low-rated cable channel that was founded by Al Gore, a former vice president, and his business partners seven years ago. Al Jazeera plans to shut Current and start an English-language channel, which will be available in more than 40 million homes, with newscasts emanating from both New York and Doha, Qatar.

The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city.

The top secret operation, code-named "Project Seal", tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests, first in New Caledonia and later at Whangaparaoa Peninsula, near Auckland.

The plans came to light during research by a New Zealand author and film-maker, Ray Waru, who examined military files buried in the national archives.

"Presumably if the atomic bomb had not worked as well as it did, we might have been tsunami-ing people," said Mr Waru.

The speakership of John Boehner is endangered this afternoon, as at least twenty or so Republican Congressmen, according to Breitbart, are willing to oppose his re-election when the new Congress convenes on Thursday, and if that number declines, his support could realistically fall below Nancy Pelosi's...

This quasi-coup within the Republican caucus is due to a more then two year long bittersweet relationship Boehner and members of the Conservative class of 2010 have had with each other, culminating in the fiscal cliff vote last night when Boehner supported against the will of near two thirds of his caucus.

Now the odds of them actually pulling off the defeat of Boehner as Speaker is unlikely, as they would either have to choose a well respected and ready to take charge individual to lead their cause, or gain enough Republican allies as to imperil the Republicans balance of power over Pelosi, forcing Boehner to step aside to prevent the night mare of 2007-2011 from reoccurring.

Perhaps the biggest political story line coming out of the House's affirmative vote for the Senate's short term band-aid to the fiscal cliff will be whether or not John Boehner will remain Speaker or be voted out of the third-most powerful position in America when the new Congress convenes.

Reason being the Speaker could only deliver a third of his majority, or just 85 Republicans - his vote included, a rarity for the Speaker to vote at all - to pass the compromise that's supposed to prevent the fiscal cliff from becoming a reality, while also have almost no support from his GOP counterparts in leadership.

This begs the question: if he cannot deliver even a majority of his caucus to back a bill he even supported on the House floor, at risk of alienating every single Republican lawmaker that is set within the week to vote on his position... Then can he hold a majority of their confidence when time comes to elect the House's leader?

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

There are a lot of ways to make sure that you are prepared for the economy of tomorrow. With the tough economic times that this country has been facing over the last four years, we want to make sure that we are ready to respond and be able to take care of our families. This is not always easy and of course there is still a lot of work to be done for any family or company to come up with a game plan that can plan for many different eventualities or issues that can arise.

This is why many people have looked at the different programs that the company Marcus Evans offers. Depending on your financial standing and where you are looking at your future, these may be of particular interest to you. There have been complaints that perhaps these programs are a scam. They have been fisked quite completely here, as you can read about: http://www.mahanyertl.com/mahanyertl/marcus-evans-scam-or-good-deal-you-decide/1088/. There seemed to be some problems that the author wanted to find out about, like employee happiness stats. He was able to look into them, and was contacted by the company and given more information There are many resources out there to find out about what Marcus Evans has to offer for you. The author had some concerns about the company but was able to take a look at what Marcus Evans was offering and was compelled that it was not, in fact, a scam. Read the article to find more information to see if the programs that Marcus Evans is offering are the right ones for your situation. As the author noted, after contacting Marcus Evans, he decided to go to two other seminars with his own money. Check out the article and what it has to say.

This is a compromise... how? The fiscal cliff "deal" is yet another poison pill for the economy. It's already been announced that there is $330 billion in new spending alone. Then there's the fact that for every one dollar cut from the budget, we are spending an additional forty-three.

And now there's this: according to the CBO, the deal will add four trillion dollars to the deficit (not the debt).

A sham

Thankfully, some Republicans in the House have come out against it, including Eric Cantor. Rumor has it that the deal might be "tweaked." Unless Republicans take a chainsaw to this abomination, the only thing that should be said by them is "No."

A bad deal is much worse than no deal. It's like compromising to spend a thousand dollars because you can't afford to spend ten. It's the opposite of where we should be headed.

The "fiscal cliff" deal that was designed to save money actually includes $330.3 billion in new spending over the next decade, according to the official estimate the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday afternoon.

CBO said the bill contains about $25.1 billion in new cuts, but those are swamped by the new spending on extended unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and other new refundable tax credits that President Obama fought for.

Of those cuts, only $2 billion are scheduled to take effect in 2013.

And CBO also warned that some of the cuts Congress is counting are from programs on which CBO never expected the money to be spent anyway — such as cuts to the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, which was part of Mr. Obama's health care law.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton developed a blood clot in her head but did not suffer a stroke or neurological damage, her doctors said Monday. They say they are confident that she will make a full recovery.

In a statement that revealed the location of the clot, Clinton’s doctors said it is in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. She is being treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot, the doctors said, and she will be released once the medication dose has been established.

Clinton, 65, is making excellent progress and is in good spirits, Dr. Lisa Bardack of the Mount Kisco Medical Group and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi of George Washington University said in a statement.

The United States Senate Committe on Homeland Security and Government Affairs has released a damning report on the September eleventh terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi, blaming the failure to secure the consulate after numerous concerns were raised almost entirely on the State Department's shoulders.

The report concluded that the State Department essentially ignored the consulate's continued pleas for more personnel and funding to properly secure the grounds, while leaving protection of our diplomatic mission to Libyan guards, which the report stated was "deeply troubling, especially since this problem was recognized long before the attack."

It also found the Defense Department, intelligence services and the administration's reaction to be at fault and ineffective to the situation, and at times - blaming the assault on an anti-muslim youtube video - to be incorrect and causing confusion over the actual nature of the Benghazi attacks among the populace.

This evidence was compiled by a bipartisan group of Senators and is rather daming to the administration not just in singled out departments, but as a whole. It reflects incompetence in protecting our consulates in heavy risk areas and dismissiveness towards the requests coming from the ground.

Breaking: CNBC has stated officially that, in fact, the United States will be going over the fiscal cliff. One of the main reasons? President Obama's horribly polarizing, shitty, shitty speech that made it incredibly apparent that he wants the US over the cliff.

With time no longer on anyone's side in Washington, the U.S. Senate has just reconvened on this chilly New Years Eve to hopefully consider whatever deal Minority Leader McConnell and Vice-President Biden, who was requested to join the negotiations by McConnell after he said Majority Leader Reid apparently gave up on discussions.

Just thirteen hours to go and there is no deal in place for averting the fiscal cliff in either house of Congress as our elected leaders attempt to reach some sort of compromise, which relies on D.C. overcoming the even more threatening leadership crisis that led to this situation in the first place...

Currently, Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin is lecturing the Senate floor on the benefits of raising taxes on the wealthy, which is a perfect example of why compromise has failed - neither side is willing to budge on this contentious issue to perhaps deal with more manageable ones that hold mutual concern and desire to resolve.

With only one day left before the nation goes over the so-called "fiscal cliff," Congress has yet to reach a compromise in either house as negotiations between the two sides continue late into early Monday morning.

Majority leader Reid (D-NV) has the Senate set to reconvene at eleven Monday morning, which means Congress will have thirteen hours (this is assuming some deal is worked out over night) to debate and vote on whatever deal is crafted in both houses before sending it to the White House some point in the evening.

Since when has Congress been able to do anything in thirteen hours? Let alone something they have failed to accomplish in nearly eight or nine weeks since election day...

I hate sounding pessimistic, but I tend to be in agreement with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that Washington is unlikely to agree on anything before midnight New Year's and that we are in fact going over the fiscal cliff, higher taxes and another recession for all.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been admitted to a hospital in New York with blood clot stemming from a concussion she sustained several weeks ago.

Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Philippe Reines said in a statement that during a follow-up exam, Clinton's doctors discovered a blood clot had formed. She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours.

Doctors will continue to monitor Clinton's condition to determine if further action is necessary.

The Tuareg uprising that caused great upheaval in Mali last summer, including a military coup and a brutal Islamist takeover of everything North of Timbuktu has seemingly been forgotten by the international community, as their inaction to aid the people has led to the construction of terror and evil in the once peaceful nation.

In fact, when asked to consider militarily intervening in the Sub-Sahara nation to uproot the brutal Islamists and prevent the establishment of al-Qaida's presence, UN secretary general Moon said it could cause a humanitarian crisis, apparently ignorant to the horrifying conditions on the ground.

This led Oumou Sall Seck, who is the mayor of a small town in northern Mali that she was forced to flee from as Islamists started enforcing their sharia will on the populace, to pen a plea for help from the United States, France and other western bodies to come to the aid of her nation and her people who are suffering.

It was translated and published in the New York Times this past week and hopefully will awaken the eyes of the international community to the plight of the dear souls in Mali and maybe stir men of power to realize we must rally some forces, or aid African forces in driving out the wolves of barbarity and butchery.

I hope increasing awareness to the declining state of affairs in northern Mali, along with the ever increasing threat of al-Qaida constituting themselves will cause some to pause and consider whether our current strategy of non-interventionism and allowing the Islamists to run wild is actually a good course for not only the enslaved populace but of the world in general and Africa particularly.

I don't know what CNN's writers are smoking, but not only are they bad at reporting the news, they're nuts at covering movies.

According to CNN, a station currently bereft of readers and viewers, the Hobbit was the worst movie of 2012. Forget about the fact that the Hobbit is actually fairly good (if a bit longer than it should be). By far the worst part of this analysis is the horrendous movies that CNN considers better (or less bad) than JRR Tolken's book turned movie.

Unfortunately, this is not a satirical headline. This is from the President of the United States. From MW News:

"I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools," Obama said. "And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem."

Obama said he intended to press the issue with the public.

"Will there be resistance? Absolutely there will be resistance," he said.

"The question then becomes whether we are actually shook up enough by what happened here that it does not just become another one of these routine episodes where it gets a lot of attention for a couple of weeks and then it drifts away. It certainly won't feel like that to me. This is something that - you know, that was the worst day of my presidency. And it's not something that I want to see repeated."

Besides getting gun violence legislation passed next year, Obama also listed immigration as a top priority for 2013 as well as deficit reduction.

With just hours left to avoid the impending doom of the so called "fiscal crisis" and no solution to the catastrophe likely, the citizenry of the United States will be left to deal with another crippling recession, this time caused by the lack of leadership and abundance of partisanship in Washington.

Imagine the 2008 recession occurring again, but this time with massive cuts to military and social spending, the lapse of unemployment benefits for two million Americans, tax increases on every single citizen, maxing our national debt once again and further shaking trust in our already rather unreliable credit rating...

Oh.. You mean reality on Tuesday
And why is this all occurring?

Because the politicians in Washington are too concerned with the good of their future political ambitions rather then their children's economic ambitions...

Why else would President Obama seemingly remain absent during this entire debacle on Capitol Hill, then to use his immoral abdication of duty as a political gambit to blame Republicans, and same for his cronies in both houses who refuse to rise to the occasion and work for the national tranquility... And don't forget the stubborn House conservatives who refuse to follow their man, their elected leader to avoid calamity for purity reasons.

What we are witnessing here is not just a crisis of impending economic doom, but of lack of real leadership... Leadership that used to be ingrained in statesmen on both sides of the aisle, the men who founded this country based on a common set of ideals for life, liberty and happiness by not stubbornly refusing to work together, but stubbornly searching for compromise among unwilling partners....

Today, we have a leadership crisis... and unless that crisis is resolved in the next forty-six or so hours, we will have a fiscal crisis from hell reigning upon us like an unending avalanche of doom.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Former President George H.W. Bush’s condition continued to improve Saturday, prompting doctors to move him out of intensive care, a spokesman said.

“President Bush’s condition has improved, so he has been moved today from the intensive care unit to a regular patient room at The Methodist Hospital to continue his recovery,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said Saturday. “The Bushes thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes.”

Bush was hospitalized Nov. 23 for treatment of a bronchitis-related cough. He was moved to intensive care at the Houston hospital on Dec. 23 after he developed a fever.

On Friday, McGrath said Bush had improved since arriving in the ICU. He said he was alert and in good spirits and was even doing some singing.

With the fighting continuing in Syria, the balance of power has moved away from Bashar Assad's regime. The Washington Post is reporting that Assad will not even leave his house.

Moreover, Middle Eastern intelligence officials, citing accounts from defectors that could not be verified, say Assad has ceased going outdoors during daylight hours, apparently out of fear that he will be hit by a sniper’s bullet or other fire.
“His movements suggest a constant state of fear,” a Middle Eastern official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.

And that Putin's comments that Russia does not care about Assad's regime's fate hit him hard.

BIG "Horny Indian" wanted to make the girls ages 10 and 13, his "girlfriend(s) and make one of [them] pregnant"

The story has been largely ignored by the media in the U.S. Only local coverage from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Tribune. No national media. Most likely the U.S. media is uncomfortable given his South Asian ethnicity.

But the less politically correct UK Daily Mail finds it a major story.

Man, 24, 'traveled for sex with sisters, 10 and 13, and said he wanted to make one his girlfriend and get her pregnant'...

Dwipin Maliackal met undercover FBI agent on internet incest chat room. He 'told agent [posing as the children's dad] that he has had sex with children as young as five' [He] wanted to get 10-year-old pregnant 'if you're OK with that'...
Maliackal is a 2012 graduate of the University of South Florida where he was the president of his fraternity... He had met the undercover agent on an incest chat room on December 7 where Maliackal, who graduated from University of South Florida this summer, used the name 'Horny_Indian'.

He told the 'father' that he had had sex with other children, including relatives and a neighbour, and that his youngest victim had been just five years old, according to the criminal complaint.

He added that he wanted to have sex with the agent's 10-year-old daughter and make her his 'girlfriend', and that he hoped sex with the girls would be a 'regular thing', the complaint said.

'I would love to get her pregnant, if you're OK with that,' Maliackal told the agent.

He told agents he had planned to have sex with both of the girls and said has been sexually attracted to 'prepubescent' girls since he was a teenager.

As you can probably tell, I am not a doctor, but I did want to be one when I was younger. I am Dwipin [Doo-pin] Maliackal [Mall-ee-ah-cle] and I am an avid sports lover. I have played sports for most of my life. I am studying to become a sports broadcaster.

His blog posts in general show a keen interest in local politics. He covered Hillsborough County school board meetings, the Hillsborough County budget process and the Sheriff's Dept.

In one post, he described a visit to the local morgue on a school trip, "The most interesting part of the trip... we actually saw parts of a dead body in the room."

And this most ironic posting:

imagine yourself getting stopped by the police for drinking and driving. Do you know what happens once you’re taken to jail? Most people don’t... From this visit, it made me realize that I never want to be arrested for anything as I don’t ever want to go through the process that we learned about.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden.

According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he'll now make $231,900 per year.

Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.

In December
of 1914 in the first bitter winter of a long bitter war the solders of the
German Empire and the soldiers of the British Empire
defied the orders of their officers.They abandoned their hastily dug entrenchments that would soon grow into
an elaborate maze of trenches stretching from Switzerland
to the English Channel to meet each other in
no man’s land. They sang hymns and exchanged gifts in a spontaneous outpouring
of the feelings of peace, fellowship, and forgiveness which were then the
staples of a Christ centered Christmas season.

If you drench yourself in the torrent of Christmas movies
that bombard us from Thanksgiving till December 25th you see that
the spirit of Christmas in emotional America isn’t about the Christ
child who came into a lost world to die as a payment for sin and to rise again
to bring new life in harmony with God.It is instead about the sentimental ideal of love and the boy gets the
girl or is it the girl gets the boy?Who
knows sometimes they throw in a curve that really builds the suspense.There are movies about Santa Clause, his
sons, his daughters; his elves and wingless angels all of whom help people
learn the true meaning of Christmas which is never about Christ and always
about family and friends and being nice people.

In commercial America Christmas is about Black Friday and
discounts so deep they remind me of the street vendor in Mexico who follows you
shouting “I’ll give you 110% off if you buy two!”The Chia Pets come out along with snuggies,
pet rocks, and every other doodad imaginable to buy for people who already have
too much.

The mountains of presents which obscenely bury Christmas
trees in so many American homes are ripped apart by sugar-high children.
Children who get into a frenzy of getting so intense they never have time to
appreciate what they get. All they want is to get something else.The beautiful wrapping paper, the miles of ribbon,
and the forests of bows are stuffed unceremoniously into big green garbage bags
on their way to landfills.

So this is Christmas, and what have we done?Another year over, and a new one just begun.

In the still sweet morning of December 26 people start
preparing for the next blast of holiday cheer, Happy New Year!!!

What will 2013 bring?

Whether we plunge over the so-called fiscal cliff or not it
will bring us a New America.An America
cast in the image of our newly re-elected Community-Organizer-in-Chief.This representative of the Saul
Alinsky wing of the Progressive movement, this made man from the Chicago political Outfit
has won a second term.Whether it was
through the voter
fraud no one seems willing to mention or through the actual votes of those
who bought into the Uncle Sugar myth and vote for Santa Clause, the man from
Hawaii who says he’s from Chicago and who won’t tell us much of anything else,
is poised to create the Age of Obama, or America in his own image.

In the New America more people
qualify for disability than get jobs, more
people get food stampsthan
start businesses, and more people forget that America was founded to
provide individual liberty, personal freedom and economic opportunity and
embrace America as a cradle-to-grave welfare state.People forget that when you limit failure you
also limit success.They don’t
understand that when you create a safety net so complete it becomes a hammock
many people figure why work when you can play.

Incentive is stifled by entitlements, and innovation is
strangled by regulation.

In our New America:

·Taxes will go up and up as spending goes up even
faster.

·Regulations will pour out of the bureaucracy to
fill in all the blanks in thousand page laws no one ever reads.

·Our President will continue to bow before
despots and our foreign policy will continue to support radical Islam in the Mideast.

·No one will ever be held accountable for Fast
and Furious, Benghazi,
or any of the other scandals which will erupt from the pustule of corruption
that is Inside the Beltway.

·The burgeoning energy industry that has the
potential to lift America
out of its economic tailspin will be throttled as the coal industry, the
fracking boom, and oil shale are all regulated to death.

·We will pour billions down the green energy rat
hole building industries that cannot produce enough energy to exist without
government support.

·Obamacare will destroy the insurance industry
and eventually a single payer system will consign the rest of us to standing in
lines in converted gymnasiums for impersonal care while our leaders take
limousines and private jets to the Mayo Clinic all on our dime.

·Industry will continue to flow out as foreign
made goods flow in as more imbalanced trade agreements are called free.

·We will be monitored by drones, wire taps, and
computers as Big Brother extends his grasp till freedom becomes just another
name for nothing left to lose.

This may be the New America that awaits us in 2013.Our families, friends, and neighbors have
voted for it, and we all get to live in it: oh happy days are here again.The second coming of FDR has put food stamps
in every pot and a Volt in every garage.

In our New America
Christ has been purged from Christmas and sappy sentimentality has replaced the
joy of being born again in a relationship with God our loving Father.So as you prepare to celebrate the New Year
be sure and thank any of the millions of Obamazombies
who get their opinions from the Corporations Once Known as the Mainstream
Media, and who actually believe the economy is recovering and glory in America
being knocked off its high horse for the New America we are all unwrapping
under the Xmas Tree this year.